There once was a minister who noticed that his little boy and the neighbor kids had decided to put together a funeral for a dead bird they had found. Being the Preacher's Kid, the minister's son was deputed to lead the services. Standing before the tiny grave, shoebox casket waiting to be laid into the ground, the minister's son confidently intoned, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and in the hole he goes!"

Celebrant: Are you ready to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christian parents?

Godparents: We are.

(The Rites of the Catholic Church)

Most of those promises made by well-meaning godparents at the baptismal font are more often than not left at the door of the church. Friends of mine tell me that they rarely have contact with their godparents. Some don't even know where they are, or...

It would seem at first that the hard work of evangelization is getting people to make the leap into the Tiber. Once they’re convicted that the Catholic Church offers the fullness of Christian truth, getting them to complete their swim across should be, relatively speaking, cake. Right?

Ye converts out there, forgive this cradle Catholic for his naiveté. Because apparently it’s not so easy—at least, so says theologian and apologist Taylor Marshall,...

How many times have you heard a former Catholic say this? When I was an Evangelical Christian it was probably the most common response I heard from Catholics when asked why they had left the Church. The sad truth is that most of these lapsed Catholics were never properly catechized, so they became easy targets for Protestants who were only too eager to help them abandon the sacraments and join a church that "feeds you...

As a professional Catholic speaker I visit dozens of parishes every year. In addition to giving general talks, I am sometimes asked if I would be willing to speak to the children in the parish school. I always welcome the opportunity, especially when speaking to the lower grades, since I have five young children of my own.

I always ask the schoolchildren for a show of hands if a grownup has ever asked them,“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

"Where the bishop is, there is the community, even as where Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."

~ Ignatius of Antioch (Smyrn., viii, 2) circa A.D. 110, laid down this principle on true union with the Church, versus schism; all the more impressive because his casual use of the word "Catholic" demonstrates the widespread acceptance of the term at a very early date.